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From: info-vax@ucbvax.ARPA
Newsgroups: fa.info-vax
Subject: Re: callable login
Message-ID: <5699@ucbvax.ARPA>
Date: Fri, 22-Mar-85 09:27:13 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.5699
Posted: Fri Mar 22 09:27:13 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 23-Mar-85 02:06:22 EST
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.ARPA
Organization: University of California at Berkeley
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From: ihnp4!stolaf!lacroix@BERKELEY (LaCroix, Les)

The DECUS Program Library has a submission called SLY which is
an enhanced version of the routine SETUSER as found in the VMS
source fiche.  It has a CLD interface, and verifies that the
requested username is in the authorization file.  It does no
additional checking, and therefore requires that the process have
CMKRNL.

There are some inherent problems with changing your username on
the fly.  Authorization for instance (checking primary and secondary
passwords, primary and secondary days, and all those other good
things).  Also, weird things happen if you change your username
from the context of a subprocess, or if you have any subprocess hanging
around.  Then there's system accounting to consider.  It's a real can
of worms.

Personally, I like SET HOST 0 for temporary username changes, and
LOGOUT/NOHANG for permanent ones.  Also I like the /USER qualifier
to the version 4 PRINT and SUBMIT commands; we probably wouldn't have
done SLY if /USER had been around before.

Les LaCroix 		(USENET) ...{ihnp4|decvax}!stolaf!lacroix